Lawmakers are rallying for the release of a Venezuelan man after he was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Sunday.
Wilber Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, was transferred to a hospital on Monday after experiencing paralysis on the left side of his body. According to his attorney, the man was in the hospital for four hours on Sunday before being transferred to the South Texas ICE Processing Center.
According to him and his lawyers, the bullet is still lodged near his spine.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) said on X that he and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) will visit the man later today to check on his condition and demand his release.
“Wilber came to the United States legally,” Rep. Castro said. “He had work permits and was an asylum seeker. None of this should have ever happened.”
Garcés Pérez is one of three people in Texas who have been shot by ICE officers since 2025. The other two shootings, involving Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island, were fatal.
Rep. Castro, one of the first members of Congress to speak out about the shooting on Sunday, has gathered over 100 of his colleagues to sign a letter demanding Garcés Pérez be released and treated for his injuries.
“First, we are deeply concerned that ICE is attempting to swiftly deport Mr. Garcés Pérez… in an effort to escape scrutiny by impeding an independent investigation into this shooting,” the lawmakers wrote.
According to the letter, the South Texas ICE Processing Center has a record of “medical neglect,” leaving Garcés Pérez without the help he needs.
“While he remains in the United States, he should be allowed to receive medical care and pursue all legal options available to him,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers argue Garcés Pérez is a “key witness” to this shooting and removing him from Texas would “obstruct” the investigation. The officer in question should also not be allowed to leave Texas, the lawmakers said, as ICE as a whole has a “history of obscuring the facts in similar investigations.”
“ICE has provided no justification for this shooting, and there is no indication Mr. Garces Perez posed a threat to officers,” the lawmakers wrote.
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